Chapter 6:

A/N: Alrighty then, peeps! It's my first chapter without Videl-14's help. I feel so alone! I hope this chapter lives up to your expectations from me. I did quite well at my horse show two weeks ago. I was Champion the second day! *Does a happy dance* Sorry, I wasn't supposed to do that.

Disclaimer: I think not! Wait, Annawen is mine. So you no takey!

The next morning Annawen knew what she must do. Lady Galadriel's words had gotten through to her that she was not evil at heart and that she had a choice in the path of her future. On top of that, her mirror had shown her that Sauron could not be trusted.

So while everyone was eating breakfast that morning, Annawen contemplated just what she was going to say. She wanted to get it out in the open that she was sent to kill Legolas; she could not live a lie. There was so much she needed to say to these people whom had put their trust in her. What would be their reaction?

Legolas was the one who brought Annawen back to her senses. "Annawen? Aren't you going to eat anything?"

She nodded and accepted the plate that Sam held out to her. She was hungry but she felt that she could not eat until the truth about her was out. Instead of eating she just stared at her plate.

Annawen?" Aragorn asked. "Are you feeling well? You look pale."

She took a deep breath. This was it. It was either now or never that she told the fellowship the truth they deserved.

"Annawen?" Aragorn asked again.

"No, actually, I'm not well. You see, there is something I haven't been telling you. About my past I mean."

She had the entire fellowship's attention now. I'm not ready to do this. Maybe Galadriel was wrong.

"Go on," Boromir said, amusement clearly written upon his face.

"Well, maybe I should start from the beginning, a few years ago, before everything happened. I did live in a village that was attacked by orcs. I was taken capture though and sent to Mordor. There, I was kept until called upon. My chance came a few weeks ago when I was told Lord Sauron wished to meet with me and he was to have me do a task for him."
She paused to be sure she still had their attention. Boromir was looking pleased with himself because he had never really trusted Annawen. Everyone else was either staring at the ground or at her, waiting for her to continue.

"Naturally, I refused at first to even hear what I was being sent to do. But in the end I was led to meet with a servant about my sentence. I was to track the fellowship and when I found you I was to kill the elf that traveled with them. I told them no, that I could never do something like that, but they made me an offer I could not refuse: my freedom. So I agreed to his plan and the next hour later I was outside the Black Gate with a map of your route.

"A few weeks later, I found you, and I believed myself to be home free, but that was not the case. I was told to mutilate myself with this dagger, which I did, to give the appearance that I had been attacked. But I went too far, and you healed my wounds, saving my life. You helped me even though I was out to kill one of your friends, and for that, I owe you my life.

"Then I met Legolas, the one I was to kill. How Sauron thought I was to kill such an innocent creature is beyond me.

"You brought me to Lothlórien and Lady Galadriel told me that I had a choice. I was still confused and she let me see into her mirror. I saw many things: me inside my cell, me on my journey, you guys. Then it showed what would happen if I murdered Legolas; I too would be killed when I returned to Mordor. So I have decided to abandon Sauron and join the fight against him; for I do not wish to meet that end. I have changed my ways. Will you ever be able to trust me?"

At first, everyone was silent. Then Boromir spoke up. "I knew we could not trust you! How can we trust you again if you betrayed us once before?! Answer me, she-elf!"

It was Legolas who defended her. "Tampa! Stop! Can you not see that she has indeed changed her ways? If she was going to kill me she would have done so already; she has had plenty of opportunities."

Boromir huffed and left the fire.

Annawen could not bring herself to meet anyone's gaze; too ashamed of herself. Instead she stared at her ground, intent on studying her feet. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

"How do we know that you are not deceiving us once again? We have nothing but your word, and that is not worth much at the moment," Aragorn said.

"I know it will be hard to win your trust again, and things are not looking good for me, but I swear to you, I have changed. I give you my weapons and my word. I wish to defeat Lord Sauron, not aid him," she added.

The fellowship, with the absence of Boromir, thought about this for a moment. Annawen was still confused; she had told the fellowship about her plans to murder Legolas, and he still defended her. Was it possible he felt the same way about her as she did about him? There must be more to this elf than meets the eye.

Finally, Aragorn broke the silence that hung around the members. "Would the fellowship join me in a quick meeting?" It was more of a command than a question.

Annawen thought she was going to be left by herself but Aragorn quickly changed that. He grasped her by her arm and led her to one of the talons in the trees. Haldir was there, as well as his brother Rúmil and another elf Annawen did not recognize.

"Haldir, would you watch her for about an hour? I need to speak to the fellowship in private," Aragorn said.

Haldir looked as though he had swallowed a lemon. He merely nodded though and rose to his feet to escort Annawen. He quickly wiped the sour look off his face and forced a smile at her, which made her feel uneasy.

Once Aragorn had left, Haldir roughly shoved Annawen into a chair in the corner. "I will not deny that I distrust you. I know you are hiding something of great importance, I see it in your eyes. It will only be a matter of time before they see it."

Annawen could not harbor her resentment towards the elf. "That is what they are discussing, you fool!"

"You will not speak to me in that way! I would sooner wish to be eaten by wargs than baby-sit you. Rúmil, Orophin, watch her for me. I will be back in a few hours time." Haldir left the talon, leaving two very confused brothers and an extremely enraged elf behind.

Annawen screamed out in anger. "I can not stand that egotistical elf!"

Orophin was the first to speak up. "What did you do to make him treat you like that?"

She looked at him closely, testing him. "I did nothing. And you are?"

"My apologies, I am Orophin, brother to Rúmil and Haldir."

"I apologize for our brothers behavior; he has not been in the best of moods these last few days," Rúmil said.

"Why?" Annawen asked, curious.

"Tis not my place to say," he replied.

A/N: Who-hoo! Done! I hope you liked it. It wasn't my best but I realized that I had not updated this in a while. Sorry! Well, review me and tell me what you think. Oh, I started a new fic; it's called Breaking the Habit. It's a Haldir romance, or will be. Just check it out please. Yes, it starts out a little weirs but that's just how I am.

Dancingfae: Thank you for the review. I considered just having everyone be cool with it, but then I thought I'd try and make it more interesting by going this way.

Gwevyan Baggins: I hope you liked what she decided. It wasn't that interesting but I felt that I should put more of her background in here.

Videl-14: Ooo! Will you e-mail me when you post a story? I'd really like to read them! :)

Vendea: Wow! Thanks for the compliment! I really racked my brain for a new plot and this is what came out. Thank you, it is a pan. I'm glad someone agrees.

Fuzzy Hobbit: Christy, I'm going to hurt you. It's a pan, not a birdbath. Get over it! I love the BreeGirls, but they're wrong. And yes, I did die when I read the collab; you are so mean to me. :P

Earwen of Alqualonde: I'm glad you like it! Oh, it's a basin. OK, I thought it was a pan. But whatever.

Loopy Lu :P: I'm glad you also like it. I hope you liked this chapter as well.